Sunday, January 31, 2010

No Knead Bread

Let me start by saying a couple of things: 1. Crusty, chewy bread is one of my very favorite things in the world. 2. this bread is quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever baked. 3. it’s also one of the easy things I’ve ever made.

I’m a bread lover, it’s true. I love a good, crusty french loaf probably more than the next person. I believe that it’s one of our greatest triumphs as humans, creating crusty bread. But I’d never, ever tried to make it at home.

It was just so daunting. I’ve looked at a thousand recipes for it, most of them calling for no fewer than 3 rises, lots of kneading, some voodoo and a bread dance. It just seemed so complicated! But when I stumbled upon this recipe last night, I knew I had to make it.

It’s from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a day, which I don’t own, but I’m now seriously considering purchasing it. This is so easy, and requires only 4 ingredients.

My brother exclaimed “This tastes just like Panera’s bread!” which is a high compliment coming from him, as he can eat a whole long loaf by himself. Get yourself in the kitchen and make this right now. It’s that good. It'd be perfect for sandwiches, bread bowls for soup, or even pizza crust.

Recipe notes: It might seem difficult to incorporate all of the flour into the yeast mixture, but just keep mixing. You can add just a little bit of water at a time to help, if needed. The recipe calls for a pizza stone, but I don’t have one, so I just used a cast iron skillet instead. Also, my second rise took a bit longer than the 40 minutes suggested, probably about an hour and 15 minutes to get to the size I wanted.

No Knead French BreadFrom Artisian Bread in 5 Minutes a Day via The Ivory Hut

Grab a very large mixing bowl, or a large container that you can cover. In it, mix the water, yeast, and salt. You don’t have to heat up the water to a precise optimal temperature for the yeast. I’ve even used just regular tap water, and it’s worked well for me. Just let that sit together for a while (you don’t have to wait for the yeast to dissolve completely), then dump the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon. You don’t need to knead this, and you’re not looking to make it come together into a dough ball. You just want everything mixed well, with no streaks of flour left, and you’re done.

Leave it in your container, covered (but not airtight, or it’ll pop), for a few hours. When it has risen and then deflated a bit, your dough is done. It’s ready to be used or stored in the refrigerator.

To bake the bread, just grab a chunk of dough, about the size of a grapefruit. Dust your hands with flour to help prevent sticking, and gently pull the sides of the dough toward the bottom, rotating the dough, until you get a roundish shape with a smooth surface. It should only take you about a minute or less to do this. The dough won’t be entirely in the bottom, where it may look bunched up, but don’t worry about it.

Put it on a cutting board that’s been dusted with cornmeal to prevent sticking, and let it rest for at least 40 minutes. No need to cover it. If the dough has been refrigerated, it helps to let it rest a little more, until it’s no longer chilled.

Twenty minutes before you are ready to bake, put a cast iron skillet (or a pizza stone) in the middle rack of your oven, and put a broiler pan (I used a cookie sheet) in the bottom rack. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Dust some flour on the top of your loaf, and slash the top, about 1/4-inch deep.

After twenty minutes of preheating, it’s time to bake. (You can put the bread in after 20 minutes, even if your oven hasn’t reached 450 degrees yet.) Slide the loaf onto the baking stone, and then quickly pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler pan. Then quickly shut the oven door to keep the steam inside. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until you get a nice brown crust. Remove and let cool completely, if you can wait that long.

I've had that book on my radar for a while now - think I have to get it! Like you I've been nervous to take on bread making, what with all the yeast and flour and kneading and rising, it just seems like it will take forever! But so glad you posted this recipe. Looks delicious!

You're a genius! Why did I never think to use my cast-iron in place of the pizza stone I don't have? I love that book; I got it for my birthday a couple of years ago and it has totally changed the way I make bread.

It's also very nice made in a Dutch oven; then you don't have to bother about the boiling water / steam, as the Dutch oven catches the steam from the bread.

Jim-49 saidI love a new bread recipe to try but,I love all the "Christian Bloggers",which aren't afraid to post it!! May God Bless,you all!!! I make bread about twice a week,and this will change up from rolls. I can cook,a large meal,and hardly eat,but fresh bread,is another story.I like the old cast iron,may try it,usually go with the pizza stone,since it stays ready in the oven,all the time.Yours sure looks very nice!! I have also found the steam,works wonders.

How can I pass up something with such an amazing endorsement? I’ve been dying to try a no-knead bread (since I’m kind of lazy when it comes to baking…). I won’t make it through the week without trying this!

I have the second book by those authors- Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes- and am seriously in love. This recipe looks wonderful too; there's nothing like a good loaf of scratch bread with a crust that snaps and scatters golden crumbs everywhere. And how hard is it to wait for it to cool? Impossible.

Seriously do get the book! I got it for my Birthday and there are so many fabulous recipes in it using the same method but you can make all sorts of things...brioche, naan, pita, plus there are non-bread recipes too! Definitely my favourite cookbook.

that bread looks great! chewy and most likely very delicious warm with butter.... mmm (i'm sooo hungry for bread!) i've checked out "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day" from the library before, but never made any of the recipes. if you are inspired to bake more bread, i think you'd really like jim lahey's book "my bread". same ideas essentially, but a longer rise time, which i really like because i can put it together at night and then bake it the next day when i come home from work.

Wow, this looks amazing, hope to try it out soon. Check out the River Cottage Bread handbook, I was really daunted by bread too until I read it - the foccacia recipe is so easy and delish.Just came across your lovely blog, and it seems we share the same name and a love of bread!Hannah

I saw you posting on Twitter about making this, I'm normally afraid of making bread despite the fact that my mother in law (who has been baking her own bread almost every day since my husband was small) has tried to convince me that it's not so difficult.

I may have to try this one out, it would save me a lot of trips to our local bakery, although I would of course have to go there anyway to buy sweet pastries!

we bake no-knead bread in our house almost once a week. don't you just love it? your loaf is beautiful! i've made so many variations (so fun to try out different combos), but my favorite is whole wheat combined with steel cut oats. hearty, healthy and so easy!!

I made this bread tonight and everyone loved it. Such an amazing texture!! I appreciate your testimony and willingness to share your faith. Love your pictures, too!! I've been trying to get better at taking food pics for my blog. Any suggestions?Courtney

Usually any time I try to bake something, my husband runs for the hills..I've been known to send people to the hospital. But this bread....YUMMY. It remains the one and only thing my hubby will allow me to bake! Thanks for the recipe!

This looks like one delicious bread and I too just love bread and a crispy crust. I've never baked my own bread before since yeast just intimidates me. I've seen several posts about breads today and I think I just may be up to the challenge.....You make it sound fairly simple.

Thanks for the recipe! This no knead bread was as easy & delicious as you described. I baked four loaves yesterday in between shoveling snow and running a snow blower during our latest winter storm in Virginia.

My roommate always makes this bread, you're right-it's incredible! I could easily eat the whole loaf by myself without even feeling the least bit guilty! Your photography is incredible by the way! You're so talented!

I actually own that book, and I am so ashamed to say that I have never made anything out of it...I think my excuse is that I don't have a good enough container for the yeast mixture, and just need to bite the bullet and get one, as I too LOVE a good crusty loaf of bread, and can have trouble finding good ones in my local grocery store.

How big is the container you're using to hold the dough in your fridge? I'm not sure I can fit a big bucket in there. Think I could divide the dough into smaller containers in the fridge? Not sure how much it will rise as it waits in the fridge to be used.

I just pulled out my first loaves and they are so delicious. This batch had a couple of added ingredients, to have it with some wine. The batch that's coming out of the oven now are the plain...no add in's and my house smells fantastic.

i just made this bread. wow. all i can say is wow. super simple, super yummy. i couldnt wait to eat a piece with the butter i made yesterday! my first time baking bread and it came out PERFECT!! Thanks so much for the post, I'll be making this alot

Even though the 5 minute no knead bread is good, you have to try the NY Times No Knead recipe now. It is the same exact application except you mix everything the night before. It only calls for 1/4 tsp. yeast and it sits out for 12-18 hours. This is what develops the flavor (less yeast, more time = more flavor). You will definitely taste a difference and feel/see a difference in the texture.

i too love a good crusty bread, but more than that, my almost 8 year old daughter loves to make a good crusty bread. i am taking this recipe and handing it over to her tomorrow to make for us. thanks so much for the inspiration!

(she's a homeschool girl who hates math, so even though the title says "no knead french bread" i'm going to secretly call it "practice with fractions").

Hi Hannah, I'm the first time visitor and the first time commenter. First, you've baked a beautiful loaf of bread. Hard to believe it's your first attempt. I'm devoted to bread baking myself, so I invite you to visit my site to view some of the picks. http://majology.mymaj.net/?p=1016If you're interested in any recipes, just give me a shout.Secondly, I absolutely love your images. I'm sure I'm not the first or the only one to say this, but you're are a very talented photographer. I love every take of yours.

I discovered this recipe a while ago also and it is great. In fact, I have adapted the recipe to be almost a full rye bread recipe. I also changed it a month ago, where I subsitute more of the white flour with not just rye flour, but also with barley flour and the result if a very light bread. I make 4 batches and bake them as rolls and I have one with dinner every night! I also make some slightly larger for yummy salad rolls!!

I just tried this! It's really good, however I don't think I got the flour level exactly right so it was a bit too sticky, so I'll change that next time. There definitely will be a next time, though! I love the chewy, yummy center and super crisp crust. It was delicious with butter and Bonne Maman strawberry jam!

Plus I have two loaves worth of dough left over which I'll make later this week, so that's always great. Leftovers don't usually last long in my house so it's always a plus to be able to say that, haha.

I knew we were on the same sheet of music, but its amazing--I'm about to post about this book, singing the praises of this recipe...when I see you've proceeded me!I'm seriously thinking of puchasing the book as well :)

Well, I tried the bread because it looked so good and seemed so easy. Didn't turn out too good. Didn't rise and crust was very hard. I don't think I did anything wrong. The yeast and flour were just purchased, so it couldn't have been the ingredients..

Thanks for this amazing bread recipe! This is definitely my new go-to bread! I didn’t have the covered pot, and when I told my cousin the only reason I wanted it was to make this bread, she bought me one for my birthday, yay! Now my family and I enjoy this loaf at least once a week! Thanks!

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